August 13, 2020

U.S. gov’t slashes caps on methane release

topic:	Air Pollution
located:	USA
editor:	Yair Oded

In its latest move to weaken environmental protections, the Trump Administration intends to officially roll back Obama-era restrictions on the release of methane, a potent gas that comprises roughly 10 per cent of the United States’ greenhouse gas emissions. The new rule, which has been in the works for over a year, is due to go into effect in the coming days, despite facing a significant push-back from climate activists and environmental experts.

The rule will exempt oil and gas companies from their current obligation under the old federal policy to implement mechanisms that identify and fix methane leaks in wells, storage sites, and pipelines. Although methane remains in the atmosphere for a shorter period of time compared to carbon dioxide, it is estimated to possess 80 times the heat-trapping power in its first twenty years in the atmosphere. 

“[The rule] is manifestly inconsistent with the [EPA's] legal obligations, and with the science that shows methane is a dangerous pollutant,” Peter Zalzal, an attorney with the Environmental Defense Fund, told The New York Times earlier this week. 

The lifting of restrictions on methane release is merely one component of a years-long campaign by the Trump administration to undo nearly 100 environmental protection rules, ranging from relaxing fuel efficiency standards for vehicles and removing caps on CO2 emissions from power plants to uplifting restrictions on chemicals contaminating water sources and weakening protections for wildlife. 

What many of these rollbacks share in common is their removal of  governmental, and in some cases - public, oversight from polluting industries, all in the name of economic prosperity and development. In reality, both the short and long term effects of these rollbacks are catastrophic for the U.S.economy and a vast majority of its participants. By extending the grace period left for highly polluting industries to maintain their operations and permitting them to produce greater environmental destruction, the U.S. government places large swaths of its population vulnerable to the economic and health ravages of ecological degradation and climate change.

Furthermore, the U.S. could face increasing isolation on the international stage if it continues to bridle against large-scale development of renewable energy sources.

It is also important to recognise that the onslaught on the environment, spearheaded by industry giants and their allies in government but enabled by public indifference and compliance, is inextricably linked to other major issues Americans grapple with, such as systemic racism and the coronavirus pandemic.

Research indicates that air pollution is linked to a considerable number of COVID-19 deaths in the United States, most commonly inflicting communities of colour. This hardly comes as a surprise seeing as sites of excessive industrial pollution are often found in the vicinity of low income neighborhoods and Black, Brown, and immigrant communities. 

From a global perspective, we continue to see grave inequities in the effects of the climate crisis, with countries in the global south experiencing the brunt of it through droughts, heat waves, soil degradation, desertification, and the utter destruction of income and sustenance sources. 

Some have pointed out that a victory by Democratic nominee Joseph R. Biden in the November presidential election and a takeover of the Senate by Democrats could very well spell the end of this new rule through the Congressional Review Act, which affords lawmakers 60 legislative days to review and rescind new regulations instituted by the executive branch. That said, while Biden is currently leading in the polls, there is no guarantee that Democrats will gain a majority in the Senate, or reconquer the Oval Office for that matter.

It is important to keep environmental issues at the forefront of the public discourse and agenda, seeing as the destruction of the environment is inextricably related to issues such as race, immigration, public health, and economic stability.

Image by Andrew Martin 

Call to Action

‘Earth needs a good lawyer!’

Support now